Blonde Hair and Tall Noses

An interesting string on "othering" was raised this morning on the NBR Japan-US Forum. Specifically, Victor Fic asked:

I wonder if Japanese television or movies have ever had a respectable foreign character, showed a foreinger speaking Japanese for non-entertainment or even a Japanese conversing in English? My sense is that there is no debate in Japan on how the Other is portrayed.

There are two places where I have seen foreigners portrayed in Japan, and thought "this would never fly in other countries." The first is a recent comedy duo: one wears black face, an "afro wig," and a really big fake nose. His partner has a wavy blonde wig, but also the big fake nose. I know that the "tall nose" is something Japanese are fascinated with, but I cannot imagine this in another venue outside Japan. Certainly, black face in America is no longer funny.

The other place where the "other" is portrayed is in the classroom. Especially since the introduction of the "period of integrated studies" in elementary schools in 2002, foreign AETs have been paraded in front of school children. I am of two minds as how to feel about this. On one hand, the JET Program (and now private endeavors of the same stripe) have helped to sensitize many Japanese to foreigners living in Japan. Reading John Nathan's book, Japan Unbound, I was reminded that it wasn't all that long ago that a foreigner outside one of the major port cities or Tokyo was indeed a rare sight indeed. I am sure others have first hand experiences, as I have, of people screeching their bicycles to a halt in order to gawk. Certainly, this is an area where the JET Program has been effective. No longer are foreigners so foreign. However, I also question the model of parading foreigners at "international day." Is it really a way to confirm ones own stereotypes of foreigners, especially when asked "can you use chopsticks" and the like? Note too that Blonde hair and blue eyes have also been used as a job qualification in recent months in Yamanashi.

However, to put the shoe on the other foot... I am often upset when I see American shows about Japan that tend to focus on the strange - be it penis festivals, harajuku girls, or strange food and such. The recent spread of a false news report that a Japanese actress was naive enough to have ordered a poodle, only to discover it was a lamb... which was proven to be false, is an example of this as well. So I must ask - are the Japanese alone in their focus on the weird when portraying the other? Is it done to a different degree than in other places?